No matter what level of owl keeper you are, whether it’s “beginner owl keeper” or “fully trained and super experienced hard core falconer”, you’ll need falconry equipment anyway.
You cannot keep a bird of prey, whether it’s a small owl or a true raptor like a buzzard in “an alternative way”. There’s a reason why licensed falconers do the things the way they do them. Often, people who dream of owning an owl but don’t have the money to go through falconry training, seem to think that they can just provide for their owl by “logical thinking”. This usually leads to them losing their owl because it flies away or because it gets hurt when the wrong equipment is being used. Just one small example: Jack decides to put his barn owl on the perch shown down below:
He thinks that’s better because he knows from reading books that owls like to sit high and he wants to give his owl the best life possible. He also decides to make his owl’s “leash” or rope longer so that it can fly from the perch to the ground. But suddenly, whilst Jack is watching TV, it tries to flie off of the perch (which is normal behaviour) but because the rope is too long, the owl is able to make way too much speed and breaks both of its legs when the rope stops the owl’s flight.
What can we learn from this example? First of all, your owl’s “long lace” as it’s called in falconry jargon should be as short as possible. The owl needs enough room to move freelee but shouldn’t be able to make much speed when flying off. Second of all, because the rope can’t be too long, the perch Jack was using isn’t suitable for owls. You can put your owl on this kind of perch attached to a long lace that’s short enough ONLY when you’re home to supervise the owl so that if it flies off and ends up hanging upside down (causing all of the blood to flow to the head), you can put it back on the perch. When you’re not home though, you should put it on a bow perch or flat perch designed for birds of prey. That way, it can’t hurt itself when you’re not home.
So what is the basic equipment you need if you’re a beginner owl keeper?
Keep in mind that in this article, I will only be talking about the basic equipment for adult owls. In one of my following articles, I’ll explain what you need to raise a baby owl (or owlet). At the end of this article, I will give you the links to where you can purchase the equipment talked about in this article at affordable prices. If you have no idea what the equipment we will be discussing down below looks like and you want to know, you can click on the links at the end of this article.
Leather jesses
These can be hard to find but you can make them yourself. In the following video, I show you how to make jesses in just a few minutes. To make them, you’ll need cow’s leather, a cutting knife, a cutting board, a set of punches, a ruler and a hammer.
Anklets
You can make them yourself with the same leather, a cutter knife, a cutting board, a set of punches (you’ll need a bigger size of punch for this), a ruler and a hammer. You’ll also need grommets and a grommet plier to put the anklets on your owl.
Swivels
You’ll at least need one swivel to connect your owl’s long lace to its jesses. I recommend having multiple swivels at your disposel just in case your old swivel breaks after a while so you can replace it immediately.
You’ll at least need one swivel to connect your owl’s long lace to its jesses. I recommend having multiple swivels at your disposel just in case your old swivel breaks after a while so you can replace it immediately.
Nylon cord
You’ll use this to make the long lace which is really easy by the way (I’ll show you how to do it in one of my next articles, so stay tuned). Bigger birds need bigger anklets, jesses, swivels and thicker long laces though.
You’ll use this to make the long lace which is really easy by the way (I’ll show you how to do it in one of my next articles, so stay tuned). Bigger birds need bigger anklets, jesses, swivels and thicker long laces though.
A falconry glove
Owl talons are SHARP! Even if you’ve imprinted and trained your small owl well, you’ll still need one. You’ll need it especially to fly your owl and when you take it on walks. The glove also allows the owl to keep its balance whilst sitting on your arm. The bigger the bird, the thicker the glove needs to be to protect you from its talons.
Owl talons are SHARP! Even if you’ve imprinted and trained your small owl well, you’ll still need one. You’ll need it especially to fly your owl and when you take it on walks. The glove also allows the owl to keep its balance whilst sitting on your arm. The bigger the bird, the thicker the glove needs to be to protect you from its talons.
A digital scale with perch attached to it
It’s important that you weigh your owl every day to track its health and to determine its flying weight and its full weight. If you don’t know what flying weight and full weight means, stay tuned because I will wright an article about this too.
It’s important that you weigh your owl every day to track its health and to determine its flying weight and its full weight. If you don’t know what flying weight and full weight means, stay tuned because I will wright an article about this too.
A T-perch
A T-perch is used to fly the owl. It’s necessary to fly your owl every day to keep it in good health physically as well as mentally. Letting your owl fly for its food also establishes a strong bond between the both of you. You can make your own T-perch by using a trestle and astroturf. Just apply some astroturf on the top of the trestle to keep your owl from injuring its feet when landing on the trestle.
Astroturf
You’ll need this to cover every surface your owl will sit on for longer periods of time in order to protect it from developping Bumblefoot, a very seriousness illness that’s very common amongst captive birds of prey. I attached some astroturf around the steering wheel of my bicycle for example because I like to take my owl on bike rides during the summer.
Biological cat litter
If you are planning to keep your owl inside, you’ll need biological cat litter to fill the plant saucer on which you’ll put your owl’s perch. This will absorb owl droppings. It’s important that the cat litter is 100 % biological in order to prevent your owl from being poisoned.
If you are planning to keep your owl inside, you’ll need biological cat litter to fill the plant saucer on which you’ll put your owl’s perch. This will absorb owl droppings. It’s important that the cat litter is 100 % biological in order to prevent your owl from being poisoned.
A plant saucer
If you are planning to keep your owl inside, I recommend you put its perch on a plant saucer filled with biological cat litter. This way you won’t have to clean owl poop from your floor every minute of the day.
If you are planning to keep your owl inside, I recommend you put its perch on a plant saucer filled with biological cat litter. This way you won’t have to clean owl poop from your floor every minute of the day.
A freezer
You’ll need a freezer to store your mice, rats and one day old chicks. You can’t just keep them in the fridge if you don’t have a freezer because they’ll go bad after a day and your owl might get E Coli.
You’ll need a freezer to store your mice, rats and one day old chicks. You can’t just keep them in the fridge if you don’t have a freezer because they’ll go bad after a day and your owl might get E Coli.
It’s not always easy to find physical falconry stores which is why I recommend ordering everything online. It’s usually way cheaper too.
Where to order falconry equipment:
cutting knives:
set of professional cutting knives: http://amzn.to/2FzcpVd
FC Folding Heavy Duty Utility Knife: http://amzn.to/2FDlwUI
a set of punches: http://amzn.to/2FwhsKg or a leather hole punch tool: http://amzn.to/2Fthout
a hammer: http://amzn.to/2p4yGmO
grommets:
http://amzn.to/2FASXY2
http://amzn.to/2GjzyMv
grommet pliers:
http://amzn.to/2GhRVl5
http://amzn.to/2FsWADq
http://amzn.to/2p893BG
swivels:
http://amzn.to/2DiOEil
http://amzn.to/2GjBWmr
http://amzn.to/2FHJ7qH
nylon cord:
http://amzn.to/2Dl8jhw
http://amzn.to/2p2QGP5
a falconry glove:
http://amzn.to/2FMfBQC
http://amzn.to/2Gihi6h (this is the one I have)
http://amzn.to/2tD7UHF
http://amzn.to/2FKNYHS
http://amzn.to/2FuK8Dj
http://amzn.to/2DkCZj9
http://amzn.to/2Fz5qM4
a digital scale with perch attached to it:
http://amzn.to/2p8KQel
http://amzn.to/2GhW5cH
equipent to build your own T-perch:
a trestle:
http://amzn.to/2FydPiF
http://amzn.to/2p9hc9V
astroturf:
http://amzn.to/2Frn8VE
biological cat litter:
http://amzn.to/2FBTLfD
a plant saucer: I’ve researched the perfect size to keep your owl from pooping on the floor:
http://amzn.to/2FMkZDp
a freezer: some people don’t want to freeze their “human food” with the “owl food”. It’s not necessary to keep them seperate but if you choose to do so, here are some small, affordable freezers to store your one day old chicks, mice and rats seperately:
http://amzn.to/2DksGvla hammer: http://amzn.to/2p4yGmO
grommets:
http://amzn.to/2FASXY2
http://amzn.to/2GjzyMv
grommet pliers:
http://amzn.to/2GhRVl5
http://amzn.to/2FsWADq
http://amzn.to/2p893BG
swivels:
http://amzn.to/2DiOEil
http://amzn.to/2GjBWmr
http://amzn.to/2FHJ7qH
nylon cord:
http://amzn.to/2Dl8jhw
http://amzn.to/2p2QGP5
a falconry glove:
http://amzn.to/2FMfBQC
http://amzn.to/2Gihi6h (this is the one I have)
http://amzn.to/2tD7UHF
http://amzn.to/2FKNYHS
http://amzn.to/2FuK8Dj
http://amzn.to/2DkCZj9
http://amzn.to/2Fz5qM4
a digital scale with perch attached to it:
http://amzn.to/2p8KQel
http://amzn.to/2GhW5cH
equipent to build your own T-perch:
a trestle:
http://amzn.to/2FydPiF
http://amzn.to/2p9hc9V
astroturf:
http://amzn.to/2Frn8VE
biological cat litter:
http://amzn.to/2FBTLfD
a plant saucer: I’ve researched the perfect size to keep your owl from pooping on the floor:
http://amzn.to/2FMkZDp
a freezer: some people don’t want to freeze their “human food” with the “owl food”. It’s not necessary to keep them seperate but if you choose to do so, here are some small, affordable freezers to store your one day old chicks, mice and rats seperately:
http://amzn.to/2FC8YNs
http://amzn.to/2tBXQi9
http://amzn.to/2FOdWtM
http://amzn.to/2FKBFew
http://amzn.to/2FtRE1b
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